Obsidian

Obsidian Entertainment's next big role-playing game, Pillars of Eternity, won't make it in time for a late 2014 release as previously planned. It's now set for an early 2015 launch, with the extended schedule going toward inc...

If you ponied up the money necessary for the Pillars of Eternity Collector's Edition, then Obsidian Entertainment has great news for you!
Available now, through Steam, these select few can download the "Backer Beta" for the W...

Advanced Armored Warface Frame Fighter is the new tank game from Obsidian, which I guess means it plays a lot like Resident Evil 1-3, except that it's free-to-play and has a less good name.
Armored Warfare is so vague yet st...

South Park: The Stick of Truth turned out to be absolutely worth the wait multiple times over, and now you can grab some costume DLC for it. First up is the Super Samurai Spaceman pack for $1.99, which offers up the thre...

Obsidian is probably the last company you'd expect to make anything like Armored Warfare, a free-to-play MMO tank shooter. It's certainly different than anything the company has brought us in the past, that's for sure.
I got ...

There's something about Skyforge that's kind of unbelievable. It's an MMO that's doing away with the multi-server issues by having millions playing together on one server, visuals are highly detailed putting in on-par with cu...

My.com is a newly launched subsidiary of Mail.Ru Group that's working on a number of game projects, such the just announced MMO Armored Warfare, and MMO racer World of Speed. Another new project on their plate is Skyforge, a...

Armored Warfare is an upcoming modern military tank shooter for the PC that's being developed by Obsidian, the studio that brought us South Park: The Stick of Truth, Fallout: New Vegas, and much more. The debut trailer ...

Mar 18 //
Steven HansenObsidian also released a comprehensive FAQ on its forum for its Kickstarter backers. "Simply put, Paradox is assuming responsibility for the marketing and distribution of Pillars of Eternity. What this means is that Obsidian can now devote all of their time and resources to the development of Pillars of Eternity and make the game the best it can be."
"We like when developers try to go crazy with things," Wester said during the announcement. "When I played South Park: The Stick of Truth, I laughed at a game for the first time in 20 years, probably since Monkey Island." The partnership makes a lot of sense and could yield great things with future Obsidian projects.

Pillar? I hardly even know her!Paradox Interactive, makers of grand strategy games (Europa Universalis, Crusader Kings) and Magicka, are teaming up with Obsidian (South Park: The Stick of Truth, Fallout: New Vegas) for their new RPG, Pillars of Eternity.
O...

When South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided they wanted to make a game, Obsidian was on their list. "We got this phone call about 'hey do we want to talk to the South Park guys?' and we were like, 'Yeah, right...

Speaking to The Guardian about South Park: The Stick of Truth's censorship in Europe and Australia over a scene involving anal probes, series co-creator Matt Stone said "It's not that big a deal. It doesn't change things that...

Mar 04 //
Chris Carter
South Park: The Stick of Truth (PC, PS3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])Developer: Obsidian Entertainment, South Park Digital StudiosPublisher: UbisoftReleased: March 4, 2014MSRP: $59.99
After a Rankin/Bass-style cartoon opening narrated by Cartman, the quest begins. The setup is that you're the "new kid" in town -- a silent protagonist and chosen one not unlike Link in the Legend of Zelda series sworn to protect the Stick of Truth (literally a wooden stick) from the elves (other kids with pointy ears glued onto their heads). It was immediately after the surprisingly detailed character creator that I fell in love -- The Stick of Truth is basically one giant episode of the show, and the details are astounding.
Cutscenes play out like you're watching South Park on TV, and if anyone happened to come along and watch you playing it, they wouldn't know any better. Now I see why creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker took so long to write the game, as the staggering amount of dialog and animation could fill an entire season. Pretty much every facet of the game is true to the source material, from the soundtrack, to the voices, to the signature chime that plays when every episode starts and the kids are waiting for the bus to arrive.
The humor doesn't feel over the top at first, but with time, it gets just as crude as some of the most controversial episodes of the show. There are plenty of poop and fart jokes as well as your typical Cartman antics ("A white thief? Never heard of one"), but eventually, you start moving into abortion and anal probing territory, as well as finding dildos named "black thunder." To be incredibly specific, at one point in the game you can summon Mr. Slave to shove a kindergartner up his ass. Yep, this is South Park alright.
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There are tons of little Easter eggs for fans of the show to enjoy, like "Vote or Die" and "Fingerbang" playing on the radio, the "Move Along Sir" guy, an AWESOME-O suit in Cartman's closet, and tiny junk item references like S'more Schnapps bottles. I can't stress enough how much more you'll enjoy this game if you love the series.
So how does Stick of Truth's actual gameplay work? Well, you'll roam around just like a typical RPG (with fast travel in tow, compliments of Timmy), discover loot, find some quests for your quest log, and complete the main story along the way. Fans will dig the chance to see practically every main character's house, and not since 1997's Virtual Springfield have I felt a sense of wonderment exploring a cartoon world. It's kind of surreal how many details are present in the town of South Park.
Combat also is initiated in real time, with enemies visible on-screen -- there are no random encounters. The actual fights are turn-based, hilariously explained by the fact that although you are technically at war with other kids, you still "have to wait your turn" because it's a game. The whole affair is a bit more interactive than your typical turn-based RPG though, since offensive and defensive maneuvers feature timed button presses for emphasis -- similar to Super Mario RPG.
Basically, you can press a button to add extra attacks, modify your strikes, or add magic damage to them. Abilities are even more interactive, and some of them involve twirling your analog stick around in a circle to swing a hammer, or pressing a button at the exact right moment to hit a baseball into an opponent's face. The entire theme of the attacks not only hearken back to Mario RPG, but EarthBound as well, which is a good feeling. It's also funny to see elementary school kids run away and threaten to tell their moms for beating them up.
Having said that, don't expect a lot from the combat system in general. You won't get a whole lot of abilities to mess around with, the magic system is very rudimentary (which is based on farts), and fights are extremely easy -- even boss encounters. You won't really have to modify your strategy at all during them, which kind of takes you out of the moment from time to time once you realize how shallow fights are. Quests also aren't all that exciting in theory, since many of them are of the fetch variety. But the key is that like the battle system, they're elevated by the game's charm and faithfulness to the show.
Although you'll level up in combat by way of a typical experience system, I really like the incentive to meet new people and friend them on Facebook to earn perks (all in-game, of course). Perks are relatively straightforward with bonuses like "extra melee damage" or "more resistance to debuffs," but it's incredibly fun to seek people out, as it incentivizes you to truly explore the game.
In addition to a metric-ton of sidequests, you can also search the world for scattered Chinpokomon collectibles, collect extra loot, and find hidden areas. Sometimes, I would spend hour-long sessions just walking around and interacting with people on the world map, trying to find secrets. Occasionally I encountered a glitch like a framerate stutter or something that didn't trigger properly, but in my personal experience it wasn't game-breaking -- just a minor annoyance.
If you don't watch South Park that often, you most likely won't enjoy The Stick of Truth as much as someone who does. The RPG elements are very serviceable but they're not going to satiate most of the hardcore genre fans out there. It's a good thing then that the rest of the package is filled with so much care from the show's creators, that it makes it something truly special.

Better than a trip to Casa BonitaIt's hard to believe that I've been watching South Park for almost 17 years. I vividly remember sneaking downstairs in the dead of night, quietly turning on Comedy Central to watch Eric Cartman get probed by an alien. I ...

We're less than three weeks away from the release of South Park: The Stick of Truth, but I'm not sure I can wait that long. Between Alessandro's preview and this video showing the first 13 minutes of the game, I'm all aflust...

Feb 14 //
Alessandro FillariSouth Park: The Stick of Truth (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC [previewed])Developer: Obsidian EntertainmentPublisher: UbisoftRelease date: March 4, 2014 (US) / March 7, 2014 (EU)Opening with a parody of Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of The Rings, in full rotoscope style, South Park: The Stick of Truth tells the tale of the war between humans and elves; both vying to claim the power of...The Stick of Truth. Of course, this is all just an exaggeration, as the war is really just a game played by the kids of the neighborhood.
When a new kid moves into the town of South Park, Cartman takes him under his wing and tasks him with protecting the Stick of Truth in their 'game' against the elves. But in South Park fashion, things quickly escalate out of control and a fairly harmless rivalry is turned into an epic quest with real consequences.Now, the South Park series hasn't had much luck in the gaming department, and understandably so. It's very difficult to translate the over-the-top and comedic sensibilities to a game without making it into something that it's not. Even though I was kind of fond of the N64 title, it wasn't really a game worthy of the series. Because of this, the minds behind the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, were very adamant to be hands-on with the development.Speaking with Jordan Thomas, creative director for BioShock 2, Thief: Deadly Shadows, and serving as a creative consultant on The Stick of Truth -- he spoke about the title's development and how the theme of play is something the creators wanted to focus on when writing the game's script."If you look at South Park, there's always been a love affair with games that's evident in their storytelling...that the characters have a fetishistic mysticism regarding gaming," said Jordan Thomas, recalling the television series' use of videogames. "The creators would not have allowed the game to be just a joke vehicle, they wanted a proper game."Instead of taking on the role of one of the established characters, players will create a unique character who is the new kid on the block. As this New Kid, players will forge alliances and come into conflict with others while making a name for themselves in South Park and its surrounding areas.Of course, comedy is the backbone of South Park -- and The Stick of Truth pulls absolutely no punches when it comes to its humor. As a videogame, Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and the developers at Obsidian were able to craft a story that parodies many tropes and cliches of the medium, while at the same time creating something that speaks to the themes of engagement, play, and obsession in ways that could only be done in a game.Much like the television series and film, The Stick of Truth covers the whole gamut of pop culture, politics, religion, and life in an unusual small town. And the transition to a game has not neutered its humor one bit. My hour with the game made me realize that this is likely the raunchiest South Park has ever been. Swearing is uncensored, and yes there is nudity, and so much more.Over the course of your adventure, players will come across places and situations referencing abortions, race relations, anal probes, drug addiction, sex, extreme violence, and poverty, just to name a small few. It has enough satirical bite that it'll likely leave a lasting impression on many. But of course, this is South Park, and feeling uncomfortable is nothing unexpected."The way we looked at [humor] was if this moment was a hot button for the audience, should we make it worse, because they [creators of South Park] love to push boundaries and their default response was definitely not to back down, but the really healthy counterbalance was, can we make it funnier -- and the answer was often yes," said Jordan Thomas. "It was definitely the right amount of pressure. In my eyes, [South Park] explores topics that makes people uncomfortable, and it does so above all out of love and truth."The Stick of Truth incorporates many elements of fantasy fiction and RPG gameplay, while re-appropriating it for its own humor and style. When players enter the realm of 'Kupa Keep,' which is just Cartman's backyard with crude signs and dressing, they're brought into the conflict between the factions. From here, players will be able to define their character and choose their class. Despite players being able to name their character, Cartman and the others will henceforth refer to the New Kid as 'Douchebag."Character growth and evolution is conducted through a standard leveling and class system. Battles yield experience points and loot, and leveling up allows players to spend skill points across the various class trees. Though don’t expect anything extremely intricate. While you do have options, don’t go in thinking you can make rich variations of each character class. In The Stick of Truth, the classes cover the standard fantasy archetypes, but with a twist. There's the Fighter, Mage, and Thief, and last but not least, the Jew.The Jew class, which is illustrated with an evil-looking sorcerer character card, allows players to focus on long-range and sniping abilities to weaken, debilitate, and otherwise undermine your enemy's strengths from afar. Moreover, the Jew utilizes special abilities in 'Jew-Jitsu' and another skill known as the Sling of David, which allows players to cast the first stone against their enemies and stun those out of distance.Obviously, I decided to roll the Jew class for my character, Sir Douchebag (and so did everyone else at this event, by the way). From here, we learn the ins and outs of combat. On the surface, it looks to be a standard turn-based RPG game in the vein of Final Fantasy, and while that is true, the core combat takes a far more action-oriented and dynamic approach to engaging your foes. Players will be able to partner with other characters, such as Cartman, Stan, Butters, Kyle, and many others from the series in during battles, and many of them possess their own unique skills and abilities.During battles, offense and defense require timed button presses to maximize effectiveness. For instance, weapon attacks come in both basic and power versions. When attacking, your characters will ready themselves and pressing the attack buttons at the moment when the weapon flashes will enable the specified move. Basic attacks allow for combos, each hit requiring timed presses, and power attacks allow for a one-hit strong attack against enemies. Each has its uses and is required for specific enemies. Heavy armored enemies can be weakened through combo attacks, and power attacks can break through enemies carrying shields.Though be warned, enemies use the same skills as you do, and that's where blocking comes in. When enemies attack, a small shield icon will appear below your party members. This prompts you to press the action button to diminish the effectiveness of their attacks. Success also allows players to restore PP (yes, there's a joke for this), which power your special skills in battle. Blocking is especially important when facing foes who use attacks with status effects attached. For instance, bleeding drains character health over time, and cannot be healed unless you have special potions.I found myself really enjoying the combat. It's definitely a much more dynamic, but still tactical approach to turn-based combat. The action-oriented approach reminded me of combat from the games like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga or Paper Mario, which really stressed that battles are not a spectator sport. I felt very active during every battle, and as enemies populate the environments during exploration, you can expect to see a lot of action. Battles can be pretty challenging, even early ones. I was overwhelmed by a group of elves at one point and was wiped out after missing the timing on blocks from a group of archers.Though it may all seem like fun and games when battling kids with fake elf ears, things eventually get real when you start battling other foes in South Park; such as Meth Heads looking to protect their stash, overzealous rent-a-cops who aren't afraid to use pepper-spray on children, and creepy territorial hobos. And that's only the tip of the iceberg.One feature that the creators of South Park wanted was allowing fans to explore the town freely, while meeting many of the series characters, and getting into trouble along the way. "You're going to visit the town, properly," said Thomas as he elaborated on the exploration design. "There are few limits placed, which use Metroidvania-style unlocking, but there's a lot to explore, and around a lot more places around the town as well."Scattered around the town are NPC characters going about their business, and also a variety of shops, where you can buy new equipment, items, and special buffs for your characters. In Metroidvania style, players can explore the area at their leisure, but some areas are blocked off by obstacles and and obstructions that require special abilities. Interaction with the environment is a key part of gameplay during traversal and puzzle solving. Players will be able to uncover hidden paths and chests while examining and attacking obstacles. Moreover, new abilities open that allow players to activate switches from a distance, destroy obstacles with your farts, and use your other party members and friends to uncover clues and take out groups of enemies without even entering battle. I was pretty pleased with how detailed the settings were, but at times I had difficulty finding certain objects for quests, as they blended in too well with other decorations in the background.
Exploring the town of South Park felt surreal, and extremely authentic. In many ways, it felt like I was watching an episode of South Park showing off a really demented and comical parody of EarthBound, except I was actually playing it. The comparisons to EarthBound and other JRPG titles were no coincidence, as they were a major influence for the writers of the series and folks at Obsidian. They really nailed the look and feel of the TV series, as there were moments during cutscenes I'd stop playing, and then I'd have to remind myself that I was playing a game after some time passed.There are many incentives for taking time out from the main quests to explore and get to know the exact layout of the town, which is a first for South Park. Many familiar places, such as the South Park Elementary, South Park Mall, Bijou Cinema, City Wok, Tweek Bros. Coffehouse, and many others are available for players to come across and explore.Another reward for the exploration is meeting other characters, who friend you on the social media site, Facebook. Yes, this is a full on parody of Facebook and they don't even shy away from the absurdity of social media. Character's can even comment on your 'page' making jokes and mocking your performance. Your Facebook page also serves as your main menu, possessing journals, inventory, and acquiring more friends will gradually unlock special points which can be used to buy special perks to strengthen your character's abilities.Many of the characters and creatures you encounter during your quest are referenced throughout the television series, and even the most political and controversial of characters will likely make an appearance. In one instance, I came into contact with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore who needed help with tracking the fabled ManBearPig, as it was stalking the citizens of South Park. This scene totally came out of nowhere, I felt the sudden urge to drop whatever I was doing and do what he asked. How can you say no to Al Gore?
Everyone involved with the game seemed pretty much on the same page. One of the key takeaways from both the creators of the television series and the developers at Obsidian, and Jordan Thomas, was the desire to make South Park: The Stick of Truth the definitive South Park experience, across all media.And judging from my time with the title, they certainly have made something unique to the series, that will speak to fan's love for the franchise. While there are some rather obvious bugs that will hopefully be ironed out, such my character being permanently being stuck in the aiming stance during exploration, and some issues with items not being clear enough to identify in the field, I came away pretty pleased with what I played.It's looking like the game was definitely worth the wait. While the developers certainly didn't have to worry about raising the bar for South Park games, which was pretty low as it was, they've definitely made something that speaks to fans of the show, and might even earn the attention of some RPG fans in the process.

One does not simply walk into South ParkSo, where were you when South Park: The Stick of Truth was announced? This was all the way back in 2011, around the time another certain RPG title was on the minds of players. It was certainly a surprising reveal, don't you t...

You know what's dumb? Stories about games going gold. Oh cool, a game's done and will be available to the public. That happens all the time. Stupid.
However, with South Park: The Stick of Truth, it feels a bit more substanti...

The Achievement / Trophies list for South Park: The Stick of Truth have just been uncovered, and it looks like "New Kid on the Block", what seems to be the very first one you'll earn, is for joining the KKK. Well then, ...

Three new commericials for the South Park game
This ad for South Park: The Stick of Truth just debuted during today's Super Bowl game against the sports team that are sporting for the most sports. It's pretty tame, but does show off some plot points like the return of a ...

Over at IGN, three reports have been obtained detailing the difficulties Ubisoft had with securing a ratings classification for South Park: The Stick of Truth by the Australian Classifications Board, before finally ...

Obsidian's CEO Feargus Urquhart recently spoke with Rock, Paper, Shotgun on the studios plans for another Kickstarter project. The company is already working on Pillars of Eternity, but they don't want that to be the only cla...

Project Eternity, Obsidian's old-school PC role-playing game that was Kickstarted last year, is now called Pillars of Eternity. Along with getting an actual name, Obsidian released the first gameplay trailer, and opened up ...

Fallout: New Vegas' lead creative designer, John Gonzalez, has joined the team behind the Killzone franchise over in Amsterdam.
Back in March of 2011, Gonzalez left Obsidian Entertainment and joined Warner Bros. Gam...

December 10, 2013. That's when South Park: The Stick of Truth releases for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3. Might as well be an eternity away.
Ubisoft has put out a new trailer and talked about a special edition of the game....

I've yet to go through Fallout: New Vegas after being less than enthused by Fallout 3 -- though people keep telling me New Vegas is better, particularly if you didn't like Fallout 3 all that much. Accordingly. watching this ...

Hey everybody! I'm wearing a really stupid shirt, it must be Friday!
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When asked what games inspired the upcoming South Park: The Stick of Truth during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creative minds behind the iconic series, jokingly answered "Crash Ban...

In what feels like the first real piece of news on South Park: The Stick of Truth in a while, those wacky folks at South Park Digital Studios have decided to share something special at this E3: the deadly Nagaskai ...

Jun 04 //
Hamza CTZ AzizSouth Park: The Stick of Truth (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)Developer: Obsidian EntertainmentPublisher: UbisoftRelease: TBA 2013
South Park: The Stick of Truth has been on my must-own list ever since the Xbox E3 press conference where Matt Stone and Trey Parker opened up by making fun of said conference. If they were going to make fun of Microsoft right on their own stage, then you just knew that the game wasn't going to hold anything back.
The Stick of Truth focuses on players acquiring the all-powerful Stick, and the latest demo we saw during a Ubisoft pre-E3 show pitted us in the middle of a civil war at South Park elementary. The elves, lead by Stan and Kyle, are fighting against the humans, lead by Cartman, for control over the Stick. Players can pick which side they'll fight for, and in this case the New Kid was on Cartman's team.
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Customization plays a huge part in the experience as you can pick between being male or female, and clothing, costumes, skills, abilities, weapons, and more can be changed to whatever you want as you progress through the game. Skills and abilities can be leveled up along with yourself, and stuff like costumes will give you different passive abilities that can be modified with patches. Weapons can also be modified with the different kinds of strap-ons you'll come across.
The entire demo was set in the elementary, and you will have to navigate through the school to reach the Stick's location. There's an all-out war going on, with lots of obstacles that you'll need to get through. A number of rooms for example have obstructions blocking your path; an easy challenge for the New Kid, renowned for his magical abilities. You can use your slingshot to shoot down lighting that will in turn knock out kids. Or you can shrink yourself down in size and make your way through ventilation shafts to get around blocked routes. An alien probe that bursts out of your ass can also teleport you up to specific hard-to-reach areas.
Your biggest magical ability is your farting skills. At any time, you can press and hold the appropriate button to fart into your cupped hands and toss out fart balls. Or you can just let out blasts of farts when the situation requires it. This particular attack is also called the "Dragon Shout" attack, and yes the New Kid is also called the Dragonborn. Yup, no shame.
There's quite a bit of adventuring going on, and lots to do in the world. Later we saw a girl getting ganged up on that you can save. Afterwards she'll add you on Facebook (it's straight up called Facebook in-game), and making more friends is key to your progress as it will get you powerful abilities, not to mention adding people to your party. Facebook is also where you'll go to manage your party and customize your character. Oh, and at one point New Kid went into the boy's bathroom, took a shit in the urinal, then grabbed his shit as it can be used as an attack in combat. Mmhmm.
Battles happen when you encounter an enemy, with the full transition to the battlefield and all. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: The combat was very similar to titles like Super Mario RPG on the SNES (my favorite game of all time). Fights are turned-based, there's timed attacks/defensive moves, you have a ton of different attacks ranging from physical, magical, and full-on summons.
Attacks are brutal once your remember these are kids fighting with real-world objects. Butters, who was the only person in my party during the demo, will straight up chuck a hammer at people's heads. Then there's the attack where you throw enough water at the enemy so there's a puddle around them, pull out a car battery, and then toss in the other end of the cable clamps to shock the hell out of someone. Let me put it this way: this is the game where you can summon Mr. Slave and have him shove people up into his anus. If that doesn't sell you on it then nothing will.
The final part of the demo has you enter the room with the Stick, where a showdown between Cartman and Kyle takes place. You're given the option to pick a side again, and the player in this instance fights against Cartman.
The choices present different dialogue, but the final result here will be the same. The result being that everyone finds out that Clyde Donovan is in the possession of the Stick, and he's declared war on both humans and elves with his Nazi-like army of the dead.
Matt and Trey stated that they'd only make a game where it felt like you are in an episode of South Park. The Stick of Truth is that and more. It's like you're playing a combination of the best/most-fucked-up episodes such as Passion of the Jew, Scott Tenorman Must Die, Go God Go XII, Good Times With Weapons, *insert your favorite episode here*. You can expect between 15 to 20 hours of good, deranged, and fucked up amounts of fun with this one for sure.

Today on The Destructoid Show, we talk about all kinds of SEO-friendly click-bait topics!Call Of Duty: Ghosts has been announced, and it's next-gen, and apparently, Sledgehammer games isn't working on it. Anthony Burch ...

Throughout its relatively short existence, the upcoming South Park game has seemed to get the short end of the stick. From developer layoffs to a bankrupt publisher, South Park: The Stick of Truth can't seem to...